GREENSKY BLUEGRASS is one of the most exciting bands in today’s music scene. Like a breath of fresh air, this five-piece band plays traditional bluegrass instruments and uses them to create original songs and soundscapes that are unique and new, yet somehow feel comfortable and familiar. Though they have been likened to ‘70s era Americana acts like The Band, Greensky would prefer not to be compared to any other bands. “We really just try to make music as a group that sounds and feels right to us�, says mandolin player Paul Hoffman, later adding that “it is nice to know that other people really dig it, too.�

While “green sky� is the opposite of “blue grass“, the band insists that the name came about as more of a pun than a statement about their music. “Along with the tradition of bluegrass, we all have lots of different musical influences that we bring to the table�, says guitar player Dave Bruzza, “and we somehow wanted to reflect that in our name.� Upon witnessing the band’s live shows, this statement seems to make a little more sense. On any given night, in addition to the myriad of excellent original songs, one might hear traditional bluegrass songs with an exploratory rock and roll jam or selections from the Talking Heads, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead or Bob Marley turned bluegrass. “We are as likely to play a three minute song as we are a ten minute song on any given night�, says dobro player Anders Beck, “and I think that keeps it exciting for the audience�. Perhaps this is the reason that Greensky Bluegrass is as equally embraced by the jam-band community as it is the bluegrass/Americana community and the band’s fan base is growing so rapidly.

“Of course, this is bluegrass. So manic chops mean a lot to Greensky Bluegrass. Yet they are also masterful storytellers. Mandolinist Paul Hoffman in particular pens some true rural balladry.� -Seattle Weekly

Greensky Bluegrass is touring in support of their recently released fourth album, “Five Interstates�, which was produced by Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth. The album, their strongest to date, features twelve original tracks and one traditional bluegrass song (a nod to the deceased King of Bluegrass, Jimmy Martin) ,and showcases the band’s songwriting and playing talents in a way that is incredibly accessible to fans of many different types of music. Carbone notes on the package: “Five Interstates came together like five lives intertwined, the intersection of a lifetime frozen in precious time and preserved in a digital tableau. I’m blessed…We’re all blessed to be witness to a band ascending as true as an arrow shot to the sky.�

Since winning the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Contest, Greensky has been touring constantly, playing over 170 shows a year, and all the hard work is certainly paying off. Recent highlights are too many to list, but include selling out venues in many parts of the country, sharing the stage with musical heroes, getting asked to play shows with the likes of Tony Rice and Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Yonder Mountain String Band and Railroad Earth, and being asked to play the inaugural Rothbury Festival in their home state of Michigan. “It certainly felt like an affirmation that we are doing something right�, noted bass player Mike Devol.

Greensky Bluegrass is Anders Beck (dobro), Michael Arlen Bont (banjo), Dave Bruzza (guitar), Mike Devol (upright bass) and Paul Hoffman (mandolin).

For ticketing info visit the Natalie MacMaster event page.

Imagine being a 20-year-old blues saxophonist in 1950s Mississippi.Now imagine Muddy Waters coming up to you and asking you to move to Chicago to join his band. Lucky for us, Eddie Shaw took Waters up on his offer. Fifty years later, he is a well respected blues musician in his own right. And that’s not an easy task in Chicago’s predominately guitar-and-harmonica driven blues scene.

Eddie honed his craft as a principal member of Howlin’ Wolf’s band. He served as the band’s leader after Wolf’s death in 1976. His own career really took off in the late 70s when he and some of the members of Wolf’s band re-formed under the name, Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang. Today, the band includes Eddie on sax, his son Eddie Jr. (aka Vaan) on guitar, Lafayette “Shorty� Gilbert on bass and vocals, and Tim Taylor (son of the late Eddie Taylor) on drums. Eddie has also played or worked with the likes of Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Otis Rush and Magic Sam. He has won several awards including the 1996 Howling Wolf Award (Chicago Blues Festival) and, most recently, the 2006 and 2007 Blues Music Award for “Instrumentalist–Horn.�

If you want to listen to some fabulous Chicago blues without having to drive to Chicago, check out Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang when they share the Meijer Gardens stage with George Thorogood.

For ticketing info visit the George Thorogood & The Destroyers event page.